If you'd like to visit my new site about Westquarter click HERE
If you imagine walking through the villages and keeping to the right then this is how this page works, starting at Cairneymount Church and ending at Weirwood.
Clicking on the Highlighted word will take you to a picture of the area, most of the links are there and I'll add more as time passes or if I see something obvious.
If you notice something that could do with more explanation please don't hesitate to get in touch at dl011g3179@blueyonder.co.uk and I'll do what I can.
£2000 and a parcel of land (part of which was occupied by a small row of houses called Cairneymount) was bequeathed to the Heritors of Muiravonside Parish by John G Urquart of Vellore in 1902, for the building of a church on the hill above Maddiston. Mr. Urquart felt that Muiravonside Kirk was too far for the people of Maddiston to travel; the church was finished in 1904.
The architect was Mr. J.D. Strang of
A memorial stone was laid by the Rev. John Mc Murtie D.D, Moderator of the General Assembly and in the cavity behind the stone were placed; some coins of the realm, a record of the bequest and the building of the church, copies of the Scotsman, Falkirk Herald, Peoples Journal and the Magazine Life and Work for July 1904.
Cairneymount was a busy church in the thirties, the evening service was held here every Sunday at six o'clock, the people being called to worship by the bell rung by Jim Bryce.
The Sunday school was held here between three and four o'clock.
On the day before the school holidays the children came up the hill for the school service.
In 1973 the church was much altered and became a church hall as well as a church, in 1980 a small hall and toilets were added at the back.
The next building encountered as we walk down from the church (while we keep looking to the right) is:
Owner, James Wilson, Teacher, Jesmond-Dene, Polmont.
Southhouse was a small one-storey building, the shop was an even lower addition built on to the north end and like most shops in the village seemed to sell everything and smell of everything sold. Mrs. Donaldson ran the shop here until it was taken over by the Hogan family.
The house was used as store for the shop for a while then the shop closed and they both fell into disrepair and were eventually demolished.
Although this house was the residence of Agnes Donaldson it is probably best remembered as the residence of James (Cocker) Wilson, Mr. Wilson was the headmaster of Maddiston School, he was a small man with half moon glasses a strict, but fair, teacher.
Southhouse has now gone and new houses have been built in what was the back yard of the house.
William McLachen owned this house, he was a goods guard on the railway, a quiet man who had the reputation of having two "speeds", dead slow and stop!
The house was subdivided and William's brother John lived there with his wife Ann and son Peter.
Similar in style to Southhouse, Hollybush, though, still survives quite close to its original condition and is back to a single dwelling house.
Jessie and Isabel Eccles lived here, Jessie was a nurse and Isabel was the Assistant Registrar.
The Registrars office was in one of the front rooms of the house.
Everyone remembers Jessie and Isabel as two quiet gentle ladies, who had a good word for everyone.
Enterkine is still standing, though it has a new name.
Hawthorn looks much like it always must have looked, the house has been much extended at the back.
Russet Cottage had four rooms; at one time they were all single ends occupied by different families, McDermott, Sharps (then Carsons) Robertson to came to mind.
At this time the
The house had outside toilets.
He was the first man in the village to own a motorcar (registration No's M S 1 & M S 2), many in the group remember how he would only drive along to the shop at the corner of the High Road, turn around and go back to Toravon again, he did have a chauffeur (Mark Chun) to do the driving though.
In the winter when the children were sledging down the hill (where
Toravon house has long gone; demolished after a fire ruined the interior and the roof, a new Toravon has been built (not on the site of the original). A new scheme of houses is now built in Toravon Woods (which at one time was laid out in paths for walking round with ornamental ponds and bridges).
A half cottage; James Thom the District Councillor for Muiravonside East lived in Janefield with his wife, Anne along with children Ginty and Nancy
Mrs. Turner lived in Ochiltree, a half cottage originally called Carden.
Again this cottage still stands, not much altered from its original appearance.
Luckily the High Road has escaped the wholesale demolition of the centre of the village, the houses have changed, but most of the alterations have been kept to the back and it remains much as it must have when it was first built.
Tam Cunningham with his daughter Madge and John Wilson lived next to each other in this semi-detached cottage; they were small one storey, room and kitchens.
There is also a two-storey block called South Brae.
Thomas Nimmo lived in the bottom half; Thomas kept a parrot, which was quite a talker but could also bite the unwary visitor.
Upstairs lived John Chisolm, his wife and family, John was the son of Colin Chisolm, the village blacksmith, and a blacksmith himself along with his father in the village smiddy. He was also the agent for B.S.A. bicycles for which you paid 2/6d down and 1/- a week, the bikes cost £2 10/-.
The upstairs house was accessed by a stair at the back, both houses were three apartments with sculleries and the upstairs house at least seemed to have quite small rooms for the size of the house.
All of South Brae has remained till to day although much modernized. Leaving behind South Brae we have to walk a little way down the narrow dyke lined road to the area roughly opposite the bus stance (about a hundred yards or so on) the next row of houses are called;
Owner, M Anderson.
Turning right, down ‘The Close’ the next house was not actually part of the row but a completely separate four-roomed cottage:
The Johnstone family lived here, Peter, Elizabeth and nieces Margaret and Jean. Both girls became teachers then Jean entered the Ministry and Margaret became a Matron in
This house also had an outside toilet and washhouse.
The next house was almost opposite Johnstones cottage:
This building was built of metal sheeting; hence it's name and was lived in by Mr. Toye.
The second house in the tin hoose was empty at this time.
The Tin Hoose consisted of two rooms and kitchens with ranges and sinks in the kitchen, it became the Old Folks Hall after the Welfare Hall was sold to Smiths.
Mrs. Ferguson’s (Bonnie Annie) ran a wee shop down here in the close; it was a general grocer but had none of the trimmings of the proper shops (not even a sign outside to say it was a shop.)
Bert and Adam her twin sons lived here too.
Bob Jamieson had his shop here till it burnt down and he then moved over to Andersons Buildings (Johnstone’s cottage).
Someone also came round the villages with a pedal operated knife sharpener, but who he was or where he came from no one seems to remember.
Among the people travelling round the area there was those whose life was given over to entertaining the public like the Hairy Man (who seemed to 'entertain' by just being hairy!), various singers and dancers and a troupe of acrobats (a mother, father and daughter) who travelled in a horse drawn gypsy caravan and did, among other things, a high wire act. The name locally for this sort of act seems to have been the 'Penny Geggie' (although in Maddiston this name seems to have been transferred to the local cinema (in Brightons), or at least a show there).
The Rag and Bone man was Macalpine who came from Slamannan and gave cups, saucers, pegs and balloons etc in exchange for rags and scrap.
Turning back along the
Most of this building (Salferall is a contraction of "Salvation for all") was taken up by the Salvation Army Hall
John was a miner at Redding Colliery and was a keen canary breeder.
The other half of
On the corner of the
Hunters shop was in an extension built on the end of Mafeking Cottage , this was another of the shops that seemed to sell everything. Jenny and Jemmima Hunter ran the shop, Mr. & Mrs. Hunter built this row at the time in the Boer war and Mrs Hunter deemed this a suitable name for the row in celebration of the relief of
John Hunter and his wife Helen lived here, all the men in the family were bus drivers, Mr Hunter has a small business of his own at one time but he was either forced off the road to increased competition, or he was bought out by one of the larger companies emerging at this time.
Tenants;
An internal stone stairway lead to two houses upstairs comprising two rooms, kitchen and scullery, once again with outside toilets and wash houses.
Paraffin lamps lighted the houses until electricity was brought in; cooking was done on a range in the living room.
The range could be very elaborate with lots of brightwork (brightwork was polished steel) and brass and took a full morning to clean (usually a Friday) with "ZEBO" black lead and a burnisher, emery paper or just ashes and water mixed together, for the brightwork.
On the mantlepiece lay a great array of brass ornaments, boots, candlesticks, tea caddy, biscuit barrel and of course the wally dugs, just under the mantlepiece there was a brass rod (or a length of string) to hang the pit claes from for drying or just to hang a dish towel from.
Owner Donald Forsyth,
George Robertson, Miner. Wife, Anne. Children, Mima, George, James, Andy, Annie, Bobby and Gordon.
James Forsyth, Dock Labourer. Wife, Annie Lees (Mitchell).
James was a checker at Grangemouth Docks and died in an accident there.
Originally came from Standrigg.
The two upstairs houses in South Rosemount were accessed by a stone stairway on each gable end of the building, each were room and kitchens.
Our journey continues, turning right, down The
Smiths first garage was corrugated steel sheeting structure, built over the entrance to the "Haugh" and was only big enough to hold one lorry but it was later expanded to hold two, it’s hard to believe that the whole Smith empire started here when James and Alexander persuaded their father to enter coal haulage and purchased a second hand lorry. Father and sons worked the lorry continuously, in shifts, until they were able to purchase another two used vehicles. Soon a contract was won with a foundry in Falkirk to deliver gas cookers to
Think of the Brethern in Maddiston and one name springs to mind, James Black. Jimmy, who hailed from Airdrie, came to Maddiston to work at Manualrigg Coillery as an office boy then became a miner there until its closure in the nineteen twenties, he then became the Absentee Officer for Muiravonside School Board.
Jimmy preached the gospel for so many years in the hall down the
Davie Anderson was the Sunday school superintendent.
Meetings were also held throughout the villages, many remember the men in black suits, bowler hats and umbrellas (Gods work won't wait for the sun to shine).
Variously known as the Rechabites Hall, or the Church Hall; among other functions held here were the Child Welfare Clinic, the Buroo, Film and Magic Lantern shows (first Tuesday of the month, cost 1d), dances,the Maddiston Players used it as a theatre, in fact it held the position of Village Hall.
Owner, Isabella Paterson or Wilson.
The cottage still stands to day and outwardly at least still looks much as it always has, the three-room configuration still remains, as all the modernization has been kept to the rear of the building.
Owners Partick and Anthony Hainey, Miners, Pond View Cottage Rumford.
The Tenants in Gladstone were;
John Inglis, his wife Bessie and children, Bessie, Cathy and Ruby were the occupants of the first end of the cottage. Jock was a labourer. It was Jock who always gave the Bowling Green its first cut of the year (with a scythe.)
James Sharp, Wife - children, Etta, Ella, Jessie, Jock, Robert, Billy, Tom and Jim.
Mr. Sharp was a bit of a card and always a sharp dresser.
Mr. and Mrs. Crawford and family, Peter, Norma and Cathy. Peter was a quiet man who worked at the Pithead at Craigend before its closure.
He was a great motorbike man and had a Sunbeam with a sidecar.
At the back of the house he had a Gazebo, which came originally from Haining (Parkhall) House.
John kept hens in the area behind Chrisella Terrace.
The houses were room and kitchens; they had gas and running water with outside toilets and washhouses.
Down the "
Owner, William Murray, Market Gardener.
Patrick Bradley, his wife and family,
Patrick was a market gardener.
"The main business was tomato growing dutch bulbs, strawberries and cauliflowers.
The worlds top flower show held annually at
Bulbs were brought from
Strawberries were grown in the first field in Vellore Road, and any rascal caught stealing them was usually escorted to the packing shed where, under the watchful eye of two bulldogs under the bench, Mr.
I cannot recall my father ever having a holiday in the summer, except for the weeks he visited
Around the same time Jenny Calaghan worked here, she remembers;
"I worked for the Falkirk Laundry until I was 16 then I was paid off as National Insurance had to be paid after that age.
I started work for Wullie Murray when I was aged 17; we started at six in the morning, had from eight till nine for breakfast then from one till two for dinner.
I was the only girl to work there for about five years then Jessie Muirhead started.
Most of the heavy work was done by the men, Mr.Murray used his horse for ploughing until it died, then a local farmer did it with a tractor.
We grew all the soft fruits, strawberries, raspberries, blackcurrants etc, flowers, bedding plants and bulbs.
The season started when the greenhouses (twelve of them) were steam sterilized and the seeds were sown. It continued with pricking out then hardening off in the cold frames.
When the tomatoes were finished we turned to chrysanths and we were busy every morning loading the lor
